Speed-governor.



No. 7I5.,845. Patented Dec. I6, |902.

H. H. NIGHTINGALE.

SPEED GOVERNOR. .Application med mr. 13. 190i (No Mo'del.)

Vnl i UNITED STATES c ArtNr Fries.

IIENRYH. NIGHTINGALE, OF MOUNDRIDGE, KANSAS.

SFEED--GOVERNOFL` SPECIFICATION forming* part of Letters Patent No. 715,845, dated December 16, 1902.

Serial No. 50,998. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY H. NIGHTIN- GALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Moundridge, in the county of McPherson, State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Speed-Governors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to speed-governors; and ithas forits object to provideacentrifugal brake mechanism wherein the brake will be applied when the speed exceeds a given point, a further object of the invention being to provide means for adjusting the mechanism to respond to different speeds.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure l is a sectional view taken through the fly-wheel, the brake-drum, and the brake-shoes. Fig. 2 is an elevation showing the side of the fly-wheel having the brakeshoes thereon, the position of the brake-drum being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a reverse detailed perspective view of one of the levers with the brake-shoes thereon.

Referring now to the drawings, 5 represents a shaft which is mounted so as to be held from rotating, and on this shaft is rotatably disposed a fly-wheel 6, adjacent to which and fixed to the shaft is a brake-drum 7, supported upon a disk-shaped web 8, and which drum projects over the face of the disk adjacenttotheily-wheel. Thedrumis adaptedfor frictional engagement by brake-shoes which are carried by the iiy-Wheel and which are brought into frictional contact with the inner and outer faces of the brake-drum when the fly-wheel has acquired a predetermined speed. The brake-shoes are in the present instance four in number and includetwo pairs of shoes 9 and 10 and 11 and 12, the shoes of each pair being disposed adjacent to the inner and outer faces of the brake-drum, respectively. The mountings of the two pairs of shoes are the same, so that a description of one will suffice for the other. Referring then to the shoes 9 and 10, it will be noted that their adjacent faces are arcuate, the face of the outer shoe 9 being concave, while the face of the inner shoe is convex, so that they conform to the curvature of the brake-drum. These shoes are mounted upon a plate 13, carried by alever 14, pivoted upon a broadened spoke 15 of the fly-wheel, the axis of the pivot- Vthe adjacent faces of the drum, and because of their pivotal mounting will conform to the curvature of the drum and will be forced tightly thereagainst to have a brake action.

rllhe lneans for holding the lever yieldably in position to hold the brake-shoes out of contact with the drum is a helical spring 15,which is connected with the lever and with the hub of the fly-wheel, and upon the free end of the lever beyond this helical spring there is a slidably-mounted weight 16. With the two sets of brake-shoes the brake-drum will be engaged at diametrically opposite points, and it will be understood that if the fly-wheel be rotated the weights 16 will be moved outwardly of the wheel by centrifugal action and the brake will thus be applied. When the speed of rotation;dec1'eases,the centrifugal force will of course decrease, and the helical springs will draw the levers inwardly to reduce the pressure of the brake-shoes upon the brake-drum. By shifting the weights along the levers the centrifugal force applied through levers through the brake-shoes may of course be adjusted, the shifting of the weights having the effect of varying the length of the levers. To limit the inward movement of the levers, so that' the brakeshoes will not be reversely applied, stops 17 are formed upon the hub of the fly-wheel.

In practice the y-wheel may be connected with the engine to be governed by means of a belt, or, if preferred, the shaft shown may be rotatable and form'the crank-shaft of the en- IOO gine,the brake-drum being fixed against rotation,\vhile permitting the shaft to turn freely therein.

Other modifications of the specific Construction shown may be made, and any suitable materials and proportions may be used for the various parts Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The combination, with a xed brake-drum, of a rotatable fiy-Wheel adjacent to the drum, a plate pivoted on the fly-wheel and project ing above and below the edge of the drum, brake-shoes pivoted upon the ends of the plate, and disposed for engagement with the inner and outer sides of the drum, a lever, a 

